Dom Post says Labour needs clean out

Labour leader David Cunliffe has been crowing about the growing number of National MPs who have decided to stand down in 2014, likening it to rats deserting a sinking ship. Instead of seeking to make political capital out of his opponent’s obvious drive to bring in new talent at the next election, he would do better to follow suit and start sending the underperformers and time-servers in his own caucus the message that it is time to move on.

Almost a third of Labour’s caucus entered Parliament in the 1980s or 1990s.

Rejuvenation is critical to all political parties. It allows them to bring in new blood to remain fresh in the eyes of voters. However, all too often it is not the parties themselves that do the job, but the electorate, via crushing defeats which see large numbers of sitting MPs turfed out of Parliament.

That is what is so significant about the rejuvenation underway in National. So far, seven of its 59 MPs – nearly an eighth of its caucus – have indicated they will not seek re-election, and there was talk last week that up to six more are considering whether to stand again.

slightlyrighty

Super Guest

tvb

The difference between the two parties is National MPs have a life outside parliament before and afterwards. Labour by contrast see being an MP to be the crowning moment in their otherwise ordinary lives as a school teacher or Union Official. Hence they are reluctant to leave.

slightlyrighty

Elaycee

Instead of seeking to make political capital out of his opponent’s obvious drive to bring in new talent at the next election, he would do better to follow suit and start sending the underperformers and time-servers in his own caucus the message that it is time to move on.

But Cunliffe can’t do this. Simply because the introduction of any ‘fresh talent’ is totally dependent on such a resource sitting in the wings. And the Labour ‘talent pool’ is empty.

So for 2014 at least, Cunliffe is stuck with the current lot – including the relics from the past.

Komata

Besides-which, being out of work (and unemployable?) these people would actually have to stand in a queue at WINZ and that would be soooooo degrading. Imagine, actually having to mix with the ‘lower classes’ (the ‘riff raff’) that they said they represented (yuck…)…

Warren Murray

It is amusing that the commentary has shifted from National’s retirees being a symptom of its waning popularity to the need for similar change in Labour.

The high ratio of old dogs could be a legacy of Clark’s leadership, or it could be attributed to the thrashing it got in 2011. Regardless of the cause(s), those old dogs ain’t going to learn any new tricks.